Close and late situations are not the friend of the 2026 Minnesota Twins.
After a leadoff homer made it 1-0 Royals, Joe Ryan settled down for six innings of one-run ball, as Royal righty Luinder Avila matched him with five two-hit frames, walking three and allowing one run in a bases-loaded, no-out situation that the Twins mustered in the home fifth.
From there, it was a bullpen battle. Guess how that turned out?
A combination of Taylor Rogers and Yoendrys Gomez got the Twins to the bottom of the eighth still in a 1-1 deadlock; the efforts of Daniel Lynch IV and Lucas Erceg did the same for Kansas City. Then, with two outs and Matt Strahm on the bump, Derek Shelton sent pinch-hitter Orlando Arcia to the plate. Arcia, not so much known for his power anymore, smashed his first bomb of the year into left, staking Minnesota to a late 2-1 lead.
I guess Eric Orze is a vegetarian. (“Staking/steaking” joke).
If you remember Yostball fondly, the ninth inning was a blast from the past. After Isaac Collins found his way aboard with a groundball single, pinch-runner Tyler Tolbert swiped second and advanced to third after a Kyle Isbel sacrifice bunt. From there, a sac fly tied the game, but not for long! Bobby Witt Jr’s 400th career RBI — a single into left — brought home a third and final run for the Royals, and handed Orze his third blown save of the season.
The Twins, in true Twins fashion, made it as frustrating as possible in the bottom of the ninth. Kody Clemens’ 13th double of the year led off the inning against Alex Lange, but Josh Bell and Austin Martin both went down on strikes. After Victor Caratini reached on a HBP, it was a storybook setup for Royce Lewis (who played second and first in this one.) But on a 3-2 pitch, Royce was called out on a cutter on the corner to lock it up for Kansas City.
The Twins will play for the split tomorrow afternoon. Heck, they might even try their hardest!
STUDS:
SP Joe Ryan (6 IP, 6 H, ER, 2 BB, 5 K)
PH/SS Orlando Arcia (1-for-1, R, RBI, HR)
DUDS:
RP Eric Orze (IP, 2 H, 2 ER, L, BS)
3B Brooks Lee (0-for-4, K)
DH Josh Bell (0-for-4, 2 K)
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